Musings on my job search journey

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The Superbowl of Networking

Did you watch the Superbowl last night? I confess, I saw very little of the game, except the very end, when I was back at home. Our neighbors throw a large Superbowl party every year; there were around 70 people attending this year. Not that anyone was able to get a good count — there may still be kids under the air hockey table in the basement, for all I know.

I go for the socializing, the chili, and to catch up with friends that I might not see again until next year’s party. This kind of event is a great opportunity to network in the most effective way, with people you like and were going to be talking to anyway. I think I’ve got my elevator pitch description of what I’m looking for and what I bring to the table in much better shape than a few weeks ago.

In addition to catching up on a lot of other things, I learned:

A high-level executive of a communications technology firm may have a couple of openings in my area of expertise

A friend has done consulting work at a non-profit I’m interested in, and is willing to arrange an introduction to some of the executives

Someone else is starting her own job search after a long period as a stay-at-home mom, and is likely to be a good partner for moral support and networking

I got to listen in on an interesting conversation about the impact of continuing financial uncertainty on non-profits, how that impacted year-end giving last year (substantially positive, in some cases), and how there is widespread concern about not being able to predict what might be coming out of Washington in the next few months.

The party also features a hotly contested chili contest, complete with travelling trophy. I tried a new recipe for a vegetarian chili. It got a respectable number of votes, was very easy to make, and my family and some friends really liked it. So a good outcome on that front,too. Here’s the recipe in case you are interested: allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-vegetarian-chili-in-the-world/

Here’s hoping that you’ll learn something useful in your job hunt at the next community gathering you attend. And remember to ask everyone how their job is going, too, and if applicable, what they are looking for in a new position, in the hopes that you can pass useful information along to them at some point.